The present invention relates generally to transport of ice and more particularly to the pneumatic transport of ice from a source thereof to remote ice and/or beverage dispensing locations.
Equipment for moving or transporting ice from one location to another is well known in the art. Such equipment has application in the food service industry to move ice from an ice making source thereof to, for example, remote ice/beverage dispensers, thereby negating the need for manual loading of the latter. Manual loading is less sanitary and can lead to accidents from spilled ice on the floor or, for example, as the result of the individual filling the dispenser losing their balance and falling during the filling process. Pneumatic approaches are known where compressed air, in conjunction with a venturi, is used to move ice through tubes to the dispenser. However, dispensers of this type have problems with the noise associated with the use of high pressure air and, the cost of the compressor equipment and the venturi. In addition, compressed air can only be provided for a limited time, given the limited capacity of any reasonably sized compressed air reservoir tank.
Other compressed or forced air approaches are also restricted to sending particularly sized batches of ice one at a time. Thus, further price increasing equipment is required to measure or meter out the correct batch size. This batch approach can also slow down the overall transport process. The prior art transport systems also suffer from the problem of melting a significant portion of the ice prior to and during the transport process. Melting of the ice represents an inefficient loss of energy and can result in the dispensed ice being undesirably xe2x80x9cwetxe2x80x9d. A further concern with ice transport involves the ease and effectiveness with which the system can be cleaned. Disinfectant flushing systems are known, however they suffer from the problems of insuring that such is done regularly, that it is done properly with a sufficiently strong disinfectant mixture and that all of the cleaning solution is completely rinsed and removed.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an ice transport system that is low in cost, that is quiet, that can send ice continuously limited only by the available starting volume of ice, that does not require a batch process, that minimizes any loss of ice due to melting during the transport thereof and that can be easily and reliably maintained in a sanitary condition.
The present invention comprises a pneumatic ice transport system having a primary ice reservoir and a blower connected to a venturi. A heat exchanger is connected between the outlet of the blower and the air inlet of the venturi. In a preferred embodiment, the heat exchanger uses melt water from the primary storage bin to cool the air produced by the blower. The ice reservoir uses an ice dispensing strategy as known and employed in the beverage dispensing industry, to move ice out of a storage bin area to a dispense chute. The venturi ice intake is connected by a tube to the discharge end of the ice chute. In the preferred embodiment, an ice maker is secured to the top of the ice reservoir for providing ice therein. The outlet of the venturi is connected to a tube for directing the ice to a remote location, such as, an ice reservoir bin of an ice/beverage dispenser.
In operation, the blower provides a large volume of relatively low pressure air to the venturi. The heat exchanger serves to lower the temperature of that air to at below ambient thereby reducing melting loss of ice as it is transported. Operation of the dispense mechanism of the primary reservoir causes ice to move into the chute at a preset rate and be sucked into the venturi as a result of the movement of the air there through. The ice is then directed to the remote location. Loss of ice due to melting during transport can also be reduced by supplying cooled air to the intake of the blower.
The ice maker can include a chlorinating device and/or an ozonating device to provide for sanitizing of the water used in the preparation thereof and to keep the ice storage area clean. An ozone system can also be employed to meter predetermined amounts of ozone into the transport tubes for reducing or eliminating microorganisms therein and in the final remote storage locations. In a further embodiment, the transport tube and other plastic components can be infused with various compounds that kill or prevent the growth of microorganisms. Such compounds are mixed in with the plastic material and become and integral component of the formed plastic part. These compounds are then present at the surface of the plastic and provide for the bacteriostatic or bactericidal action thereon.
The present invention was found to operate relatively quietly and can work continuously for as long as ice is available to be transported. The use of a primary reservoir that can actively discharge ice therefrom is a significant improvement over prior art systems that do not have a mechanically accessible storage capacity and can only transport an amount of ice as is harvested from an ice maker after any one cycle thereof. The present invention is also not hampered by any type of batch transport requirement. The heat exchanger serves to reduce ice melting and does so in a cost effective manner by using cold water that was previously unutilized and regarded as waste. A combination of the chlorine, ozone and/or microorganism resistant plastic approaches provide for a transport system that is clean, and reliably so, and that will not degrade or otherwise negatively affect the dispensed ice.